Various passenger vehicles, for example, aircraft, trains, and ships, are equipped to serve food and beverages to passengers. To facilitate such services, the vehicles may include galleys in which the food and beverages are handled. A typical galley includes a catch basin (or sink) that is configured to allow convenient disposal of waste fluids. A plumbing system coupled to the sink may also include a removable drain strainer that strains debris and particulates from the waste fluids, thereby preventing clogs and other associated plumbing problems. The drain strainer provides a trap or a settling tank for grease, food particles, and other such debris and particulates.
Colored liquids such as red wine, coffee, cola, and the like are often poured into a sink of a galley. For example, during a flight of a passenger aircraft, an attendant may pick up unfinished drinks from passengers (such as before the aircraft lands) and pour the unfinished drinks down a drain of the sink. The colored liquid drains through an overboard drain mast of the aircraft. It has been found that with certain aircraft, for example, the drained colored liquids may stain portions of an exterior fuselage. In particular, aircraft having white or light-colored fuselages may be particularly prone to stains from colored liquids that drain through a drain mast.
In order to prevent such colored liquids from staining exterior portions of the aircraft, some flight attendants may consider disposing colored liquids via a toilet in a lavatory. As such, a flight attendant would need to separately transport the liquid to the lavatory, pour the liquid into the toilet, and then flush the toilet. As can be appreciated, such a practice is not user-friendly, and is inefficient, inconvenient, and time-consuming. Moreover, toilets onboard aircraft are not intended for such liquid disposal, and are not always readily available for such a practice.
Aircraft operators may also consider incorporating specialized complex and complicated plumbing systems that are specifically configured to treat and remove colored liquids into aircraft. Such systems provide separate and distinct plumbing systems that are separately assembled into the aircraft. However, such systems tend to be complex, expensive, add weight, and generate noise within the interior cabin.